Craic, noun, derived from the Middle English term crak and used in 18th-century Scotland (by Robert Burns, no less) to mean “conversation” or “news.” The word reached England by the 19th century and became linked with gossip, before arriving in Northern Ireland mid-20th century. It was subsumed into the Irish language with a new Gaelic spelling—“craic”—but wasn’t in widespread use until the 1970s when talk show host Seán Bán Breathnach incorporated it into his catchphrase, “Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn!”—“We’ll have music, chat and craic!” Ever since, the term has been taken to include all of the above as well as “generalized fun.” Usages include: “What’s the craic?” “It was good craic” and “The craic was mighty.”